Recap: “Faith” Episode 18

Joonni: The drama approaches it’s final chapter as one baddie loses his mind, the other hangs on by a thread, and another, perhaps the most powerful of all, rides into town. At the same time, our OTP makes an enormous stride in confirming their feelings for each other but yes, the damn world won’t just let them be.

Softy: It was folly to expect this show to slow down its plot so we can enjoy the two lovebirds finally in sync cuz now the whole drama has kicked into hyper drive. This episode went by so fast I have whiplash without turning my head even once. Sort of makes you wonder with everything and everyone out to get them, do these two even have a prayer of a chance to have the option of staying together for the rest of their remaining days.

“Forever” (“Carry On” Piano Version)

Episode 18

Eun-soo informs Young that the Hyun Go Chon is going to be attacked and Young replies, “I know, so there is no time.” Eun-soo urges Young to leave. “Hurry and go.” Young looks at Eun-soo straight in the eye and says, “Because there is no other way…” He leans in, pulling Eun-soo towards him and kisses her.

Everyone watches in shock with their mouths hanging open. Young ends the kiss and looks at Deok Heung and says, “This is why the marriage is not possible.” Deok Heung orders him captured for going after a prince’s woman. Young smiles gently at Eun-soo before walking away.

Ki Chul leans in and tells Deok Heung to just wrap things up today before things get more embarrassing. As Young walks away, he looks back while Eun-soo continues to smile. Young is taken into custody by the guards.

Hwa-Eum and their men surround Hyun Go Chon, preparing to attack, but no one is there. Hwasooin touches the teapot to measure its warmth and concludes that the king left in a hurry. Eum-ja and Hwasooin decide to split up the troops to chase after the possible routes that Gongmin and his party took- one to the palace, one to the border, and one into the mountains.

Gongmin and Noguk are riding in a carriage as the Woodalchi escort them. Gongmin looks out worriedly but Noguk smiles at him reassuringly. He holds out his hand to her and she takes it. (Joonni: GongNo gives me such the fuzzies. I love these two so dearly.)

Young is sitting in a cell and Ahn Jae comes to talk to Young. Young wants to know how many loyal men Ahn Jae has underneath him. He tells him that the king is in danger, being chased by around 300-400 of Ki Chul’s men disguised as wild thieves. Ahn Jae explains that he can’t act without orders from his higher-ups so Young reminds him those higher-ups were traitors. Young promises to take care of those men. Ahn Jae agrees to go so Young tells him which way the king is coming and that the king is waiting with Ahn Jae’s promotion. Ahn Jae leaves and Young escapes as the prison door is opened for him.

Dae-man rushes to Choong-suk to tell him that about fifty of Ki Chul’s men are close behind. Gongmin asks if they can keep running away like this. Choong-suk replies that they can’t- they’ll have to set up fort and fight the attackers off. Deok-man, returning back from his scout, reports that there is a hunter’s house in which they can take refuge for now. Choong-suk gravely tells Joo-suk that he can give him only ten men to fight of their tail while Gongmin and Noguk are led to the shelter. Joo-suk and his group bravely accepts the duty.

At the palace, Ki Chul asks Deok Heung for Eun-soo since he doesn’t know when the door to heaven will open. He wants to take her there and just wait. Deok Heung, still stubbornly sitting on the throne, says that Young calculated this all- even if he was captured, Ki Chul and Deok Heung won’t be able to do anything to Eun-soo. Deok Heung asks about the king. Didn’t he say he can’t give Ki Chul Eun-soo until they mourn Gongmin’s death? Ki Chul replies in annoyance that 400 of his men are chasing the king now and Young is imprisoned- “What else do you want?” (Joonni: Oh Ki Chul. You’re obsession with Eun-soo has made you dumb.) Deok Heung, with an unsettling smile, says, “Did I expect to much?”

Ki Chul steps closer to Deok Heung. “There is only one thing I want- the doctor. I was patient with you because you brought her here so don’t ask for more indulgence. It’s getting harder to grant you that.”  Before Ki Chul leaves, he declares that he will come to take Eun-soo away tomorrow.

Lady Choi is keeping her eye out on Deok Heung and she watches as he goes to see Eun-soo. Deok Heung approaches Eun-soo menacingly and corners her. He demands to know what the problem was- if they joined hands, they could have ruled a country together! Eun-soo reminds him that she said he could never become king. Deok Heung, still not believing that Eun-soo is from heaven, asks if it is because her fortune-telling told her that.

Deok Heung tells her his plan to continue with the wedding as Eun-soo reaches for the dagger that Young gave her and pulls it out on Deok Heung. She twists around and holds the dagger to Deok Heung’s neck saying that she learned how to use the dagger well but she only learned up to here. (Joonni: So you weren’t just completely distracted by Young’s glorious face and tall stature just inches away from you??? *clap clap clap*)

Eun-soo pushes Deok Heung away and holds out her sword to him. She orders him to leave but Deok Heung just sits down, still having some questions to ask her. He tells her he couldn’t understand why Young let himself get captured so easily. He also informs her that Young escaped from prison with the help of another soldier. Eun-soo smiles. “I knew it.”

Deok Heung asks Eun-soo to save him. Eun-soo: “You’re crazy.” Deok Heung tells her that Ki Chul keeps asking for her but if he lets her go, he has no more cards to play. He wants Eun-soo to run away to Young. Eun-soo sits down to listen.

Deok Heung reminds her that she was planning to run away from Ki Chul anyway before her lie about heaven and the door was found out. Eun-soo confirms this. Deok Heung asks her to hide for about ten days. Within that time, a message from Yuan will arrive, making him king of Goryeo. Eun-soo replies, “Whatever.” Before Deok Heung leaves, he punctures her forearm. He tells her that she’s been poisoned. She won’t show any particular symptoms but she is going to have to come to him when he calls if she wants to live.

Lady Choi narrates. She sent a fake message from Deok Heung to the generals that were on the list of suspects. Young goes with his Woodalchi to meet those generals that the fake message has gathered. Entering the room with only Dol-bae, Young starts to name the generals there as those who participated in Jo Il-shin’s rebellion, but our forever impatient warrior tosses the scroll away in irritation before he finishes.

Young, mixing in some banmal along with some proper formal language, tells the generals that he is there under the king’s order to arrest them for their crime. One of them asks if Young and Dol-bae can take on all of them. Dol-bae answers the question by knocking out most of the generals by himself. Young holds his sword to the lead general demanding to know if he will go quietly or die right here. The general doesn’t answer so Young tells him to choose quickly- “I’m in a hurry.” The general tries to fight back but Young just knocks him down.

Hwa-Eum catch up to the carriage that Gongmin abandoned. Eum-ja uses his hearing to locate the Woodalchi waiting for them and Ki Chul’s men attack. The Woodlachi fight back hard but during the battle, Joo-suk is slayed, as well the rest of the Woodalchi there. (Joonni: NO! I knew that lingering shot of Joo-suk foreshadowed nothing good.)

Hwa-Eum, thinking that Joo-suk is dead, walk past him but Joo-suk, using the last amount of strength he has, attacks Hwa-Eum. But he is no match for them, alone and injured. They kill him easily and Joo-suk, the loyal and brave warrior, falls among his fellow men.

At the hunter’s house, Gongmin worries about the unit left behind. He confirms that the leader of the unit was Joo-suk and he remembers him as the loyal soldier that delivered the message from Young in the past. He declares to the Woodalchi around him, “I remember him. I remember all of you. You are with me day and night so how could I not remember you?” Noguk touches Gongmin’s arm reassuringly, saying that the Woodalchi will be okay. Gongmin replies, “Young values his men tremendously. He will be heartbroken if anything happens to them.” (Joonni: Oomph. Gongmin…how do you always stab me in my heart with your care and love of Young?)

Dae-man rushes in from his lookout to report that Hwa-Eum are coming. Choong-suk asks Noguk and Gongmin to take off their outer robes. When Gongmin starts to protest, Choong-suk tells him that Young told him to use this as the final measure to bring Gongmin to safety. A Woodalchi and Moogakshi step up to disguise themselves as Gongmin and Noguk. Our royal couple refuses- they can’t let others die for them! Gongmin declares that he will go out to meet the attackers since he is the king. Choong-suk fiercely warns him that if Gongmin does that, he will have to forcibly tie him up. He orders one unit to stay and hold off the attack while the rest escort Gongmin and Noguk away. Gongmin and Noguk stand helplessly as they are disrobed, fearing the safety of their protectors.

Young is waiting with the generals he arrested when their underlings show up to rescue them. Young, crossing his arms, asks impatiently, “Why are you so late?” Young singles out one of them to tell him that the king is promoting him- will he continue to support his leader that rebelled against the king or will he accept a promotion by the king? When the soldier is slow to answer even for a second, Young frowns, still in a hurry to get this all over with. The soldier accept the promotion and Dol-bae hands Young another promotion scroll. Young asks, “How many more? Dol-bae: “Three.” Young:….. (Joonni: So hilarious. Young’s pants are on fire and he soooo just wants to run off to Eun-soo.)

The Woodalchi who were left behind are killed as Gongmin and Noguk are escorted away. Gongmin’s party is finally able to meet up with Ahn Jae and his soldiers who have come to help out. Ahn Jae tells Gongmin that Young sent them and the rest of the Woodalchi look extremely relieved.

Young is at the palace ordering his soldiers to be on guard when he gets the report that Gongmin is safe. Young immediately starts heading somewhere, slowly at first, but he soon breaks into a run. He rushes over to Eun-soo’s room and Eun-soo stands up happily to see him. He immediately embraces her tightly, gathering his breath from his run. (Joooni: So swoon-worthy!)

Looking at her worriedly, he asks if she is okay. He wants to know what happened- why did Deok Heung just let her out of her room in the palace? Did they make some kind of deal again?! Eun-soo replies that she cried to have him let her go. Young has a hard time believing her but Eun-soo changes the subject, saying, “I came to be with you but instead of saying ‘Welcome,’ you argue and get angry with me.” Young replies, “I was preoccupied all day because I was very worried.”  (Joonni: Be still, my heart. Young is slaying me with all this straightforward expression of how much he loves her.)

Eun-soo smiles at him and asks, “You have to go, right?” Young looks at her blankly- “What?” Eun-soo replies, “I heard the king is coming back safely. You have to go greet him.” Young, with a face that betrays that greeting the king was the last thing on his mind, says, “Ah…yes.”

Young breaks out into a smile- “He’s safe.” Young asks Eun-soo if she will remain here and Eun-soo nods yes. Young: “I will come see you.” Eun-soo tells him to go, that they will talk later- “I just wanted to see you.” Young starts to leave but turns back to look at Eun-soo once more. She smiles brightly for him. (Joonni: Oh, this is becoming a habit! He needs to see her always smile before he leaves. Why does this break my heart?) Once Young is gone, the smile disappears from Eun-soo’s face, much like before.

Hwasooin reports that it wasn’t Gongmin and Noguk that their men killed but others in disguise. Ki Chul wonders where the real king went but he doesn’t care too much right now. All he cares about is bringing Eun-soo from the palace tomorrow.

Eum-ja, looking bored and irritated, asks Ki Chul if he is really planning to go to heaven. Ki Chul doesn’t understand Eum-ja’s lack of enthusiasm. Does he not want to go to heaven too? Ki Chul asks for more men to go with him to heaven but Yang-gak informs him there are not enough that are volunteering to go. Ki Chul also can’t comprehend that these men don’t want to see the heavenly world before they die. Yang-gak looks at Ki Chul worriedly so Ki Chul asks if Yang-gak feels the same as those other men. (Joonni: Ki Chul has officially LOST.HIS.MIND.)

Deok Heung hides Hwata’s belongings underneath the floorboard under the chess table. His eunuch tells him that it seems the king is alive. Deok Heung says that he will run away to Ki Chul’s house. “I will come back soon.”

To stomp out that plan, Young arrives with his men. Deok Heung order his soldiers to capture Young but Young starts to list Deok Heung’s crimes…but yes…once again he can’t care enough about these formalities and just tells Deok Heung that he is going to be arrested to be questioned by the king later. The soldiers that once protected Deok Heung turn on him to arrest him. Deok Heung looks around him and releases a laugh tinged with desperation, fear, and disbelief.

Gongmin and Noguk have returned to the palace and Lady Choi greets Noguk to lead her away. Gongmin, without looking at Young in the eye, simply says, “I’m sorry,” before walking away. Young looks after him curiously. Choong-suk reports that twenty-four Woodalchi, including Joo-suk, died- that’s half of the entire Woodalchi. The other Woodalchi start to cry as Young remembers what he once said to Joo-suk- “If you die because of me…I’m saying this beforehand…I’m sorry.” Young, fighting back the tears, simply says to his men, “You’ve worked hard,” before leaving them.

Jang Bin, examining Eun-soo’s puncture wound, guesses that the poison might be from some kind of insect or parasite, a method he’s seen used by the Japanese. Eun-soo wishes for antibiotics- that could be used at the antidote. Jang Bin informs her that she won’t experience symptoms for about a month but after they show up, she will have only seven days until death. Eun-soo tells him that Deok Heung told her to come to him for the antidote. Jang Bin replies that he doesn’t believe in people who use poison (Joonni: See, Eun-soo! See!!!) Jang Bin offers to try to make the antidote. Eun-soo asks if he really can so Jang Bin replies, “You never know until you try.”

Jang Bin asks if Eun-soo is not going to tell Young about the poison. She replies that she can’t tell him now since he must be feeling awful already. She says to herself, “He said he was going to come but he’s late,” as she looks for Young.

Young has set up a mourning alter in his room for the slain Woodalchi. Gongmin comes in and bows before the alter before saying to Young that he waited all evening for him- “What were you doing here?” Young: “I was just sitting.”

Gongmin wants to properly do the rituals to mourn the death of the Woodalchi that died to protect him and Young treasured. Young: “It was my fault.” Gongmin angrily replies, “Do you want to argue who’s fault this really is?” Young repeats again, “It was my fault.” He explains that he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. “It was like that last time too. I knew about Jo Il-shin’s actions but I didn’t properly take care of it. This time too. I missed out on the right time because I was sitting in a cell. Before, you had to leave the palace and this time my men…died.”

Gongmin sits down. Young turns to him and says, “Once you asked me what the order was.” Gongmin: “I did.” Young says, “Always…’that person’ was first. I don’t know about loyalty to this country, Your Majesty.” Gongmin: “So?” Young: “It is dangerous to have someone who has started to think this way as your Woodalchi captain.” Gongmin: “So?” Young: “I ask that you let me go.”

Gongmin gets up and without looking at Young, orders him to come to the assembly tomorrow to make a decision about Ki Chul and Deok Heung- “For now…just this.” Gongmin leaves and Young bows.

Eun-soo is crossing off dates on her self-made calendar when she notices Young standing there. She says she wants to offer him beer but since she can’t, she offers him tea. Young doesn’t respond so she asks him to sit. Young informs her that Deok Heung is imprisoned now. He explains to her that he didn’t fight the marriage plan (after the initial encounter with Deok Heung) because he was planning to retake the palace anyway. He didn’t know the wedding was going to be pushed up like that.

Eun-soo interrupts Young’s explanation to tell him that Deok Heung told her a message was going to arrive from Yuan within ten days, making him king, and that she should hide till then and not get caught by Ki Chul. Young asks, “So you hide here?” Eun-soo: “If I get caught, you will protect me.”

Eun-soo tells Young that she heard about what happened to the Woodalchi. She also says she knows he holed himself up somewhere till now, sad and upset. Young doesn’t deny it.

Eun-soo holds up the sheets of paper she has been writing on. She tells him that this appeared in a movie and these are heavenly words. She recites them one by one as she flips the pages. She reads the first page, as it is truly written- “It’s okay.”

She reads the second page but it’s different from what she wrote. She says, “Don’t worry” but the page says, “I will be by your side.” She reads the next page as, “Everything will be okay” but the paper actually reads, “Until that day.” She recites the last page- “Right?” but the paper reads, “Can I?” Young smiles and answers, “Yes.” (Joonni: Kill me now.)

Before Young leaves, he asks if Ki Chul knows when the door opens. Eun-soo replies that she told him in two months time but he doesn’t believer her- “He will probably take me there if he sees me.” Young says that he will have to tie up Ki Chul’s legs then. He asks Eun-soo to wait while he takes care of a few things. He wants her to stay here so he can protect her. “And before it’s too late, I will take you there…to the door to heaven.” Young exits, leaving Eun-soo to cry by herself.

Ki Chul comes to see Deok Heung in prison. He asks where “his” doctor is. Deok Heung reminds Ki Chul that there is not much time left until the door to heaven opens. Ki Chul, holding back his annoyance, informs Deok Heung that the message from Yuan will arrive soon. He got the report that the messenger just crossed the border so the letter should be here in at least two to four days.

Deok Heung grimaces and asks Ki Chul if there is any way he can leave the prison- there are no books or badook here. Ki Chul finally loses it and screams, “How?!” He demands to know where all the money he gave him went to buy over the soldiers. How could Deok Heung lose all the soldiers so fast?! Deok Heung, cool as a cumber, replies, “Ah. I was just regretting that. Next time, I will use it more effectively.” Ki Chul, shaking from anger, storms out of the cell.

Noguk tells Lady Choi that Gongmin hasn’t been able to sleep. “We shouldn’t have come back. He slept so well in Hyun Go Chon. I hate this palace.” Noguk goes to see Gonngmin, who is staring pensively at his throne in the royal court. Noguk announces that she came to escort him to the bedroom. Gongmin replies that he still has some things to think over. Noguk asks for him to give those thoughts to her so he can sleep.

Gongmin tells her that tomorrow he will make an important decision tomorrow but he will also have to pay a huge price. “My citizens might have to shed blood again because of me. Like the Woodalchi that died this time.” Noguk states, “You’re planning to fight Yuan.” Gongmin: “It’s your country.” Noguk: “It was my country.” Gongmin: “Then is Goryeo your country now?” Noguk replies that it’s not important to her what her country is. “I am satisfied as long as it is the place where my husband can sleep peacefully.” Gongmin smiles and says that Noguk is saying something similar to Young. “He also said this- that he will go where his heart goes.”

Young and Ki Chul run into each other the next day. They silently acknowledge each other and walk away. Young orders Dol-bae to make sure that the Suribang are following around Ki Chul. He also orders to find and kill the messenger that is coming from Yuan.

Young and Gongmin join the assembly. Gongmin announces that he has already taken care of the punishment and replacement of the traitors. He also announces that he has started investigating the Chung Myun Suh Won that Ki Chul had set up inside the palace. Gongmin says he got reports that instead of being used for the country, most of the taxes given the citizens were going into Ki Chul’s house through the Chung Myun Suh Won. He asks the statesmen to go through the tax records.

Gongmin moves on to the third order of business. He tells the statesmen he was attacked by thieves on the way back to the palace. Ahn Jae reports that they were able to catch about twenty of them and they confessed to being Ki Chul’s men. Ki Chul looks up in surprise. Gongmin asks if Ki Chul has anything to say. Ki Chul, feigning ignorance, says “My men pretended to be thieves? This is the first time I have heard of such a thing. I will go back home and immediately find out if there were more and send them to you to be punished.”

Young informs Ki Chul that he doesn’t need worry about that. They have already blocked off all roads to Ki Chul’s house and started to capture his men one by one. Gongmin announces that Ki Chul will be under house arrest until the investigation is over. Ki Chul looks at Gongmin in disbelief. “You are going to lock me up in my house?” Gongmin: “Would you like to stay in prison then?” Ki Chul starts to yell, “You can’t do this! I have somewhere to go,” but Young and his men stop him from reacting any further.

Eun-soo’s hair is a mess once more as she tries to see if there are any hidden messages in her diary pages. She ruffles her hair again and leans back on her chair in frustration. She almost falls over except Young catches her and props up the chair. He tells her to continue with what she is doing and casually sits down by window, propping up his legs and taking out a book. Eun-soo looks at him and gasps to see that his feet are near her antidote samples so she quickly pulls his legs off. She peers at Young and asks, “You know how to read?” He replies dryly, “I know how to read.”

Eun-soo asks him what he is doing here and smiles when he replies that he came to protect her. He tells her that Ki Chul is very upset right now so if he finds out where Eun-soo is, he doesn’t know what Ki Chul might do. She says, “Because I might be dragged out again? You can just come and rescue me again.” Young looks up at her curiously and Eun-soo smiles at him.

Eun-soo explains to Young that she made a bet with Jang Bin to see who can come up with antidotes faster. She starts to explain the particularities of each sample but Young just stares at her messy hair. He interrupts her to lead her in front of a mirror. He points to her hair and asks her to do something about it. When Eun-soo puts up her arm to straighten her hair, Young notices the bandage and asks worriedly what happened. Eun-soo tries to pull away but Young unwraps the bandage and sees the infection. He comments that he’s seen this wound before used by the Japanese.

Young’s eyes widen as he looks at the antidote samples she was showing him before and asks her if she is making the antidote for this poison now. Eun-soo silently nods. Young demands to know who poisoned her- “Was it Deok Heung? Did he let you go, Imja, after he did this to you?” Eun-soo starts to explain that it happened so suddenly but Young yells at her, “Why?!” More quietly, he continues, “Why didn’t you tell me?” Eun-soo replies that the poison isn’t going to hurt her immediately and they are trying to make the antidote now.

Young: “Am I still that far away? To the extent that you don’t even need to tell me this?  Am I still that far away?” Eun-soo: “Because you get mad like this…” Young: “Don’t you know why I am angry?”

Eun-soo replies, “What else am I going to make you hear if you go running to him again? Last time he made you steal the royal seal. What will he make you do this time? I know how many times, because of me, you had to bow your head and get caught. You shouldn’t have to do that.”

Young lets go of Eun-soo’s arm. “So is that why you stay so far away?”  Young starts to leave but Eun-soo asks him to wait as she runs to him and hugs him from the back. She asks him to not look back and just listen. “I will ask you one thing. Should I not leave? Can I stay?” Young tries to turn back but Eun-soo holds him hard. “Can’t I do that?”

Young: “How can you say that even though you were poisoned?” Eun-soo: “Then I will ask you this. For the remaining days, every day, I will love you as much as I want, so can you forget me later on? No matter what…don’t live rashly or just sleep all the time. Can you forget it all?” Young: “You want me to forget?” Eun-soo, crying in his back, begs, “Promise you will do that.” Tears start to well up slowly in Young’s eyes.

Shi-wool and Ji-ho are inspecting a seemingly empty carriage but a hand comes out to choke Ji-ho. Thankfully, Shi-wool saves him and the two run away. (Joonni: Oooh, a new scary bad.)

Ki Chul paces inside his room as Yang-gak reports that the royal army is surrounding the house. Ki Chul starts to lose it, throwing things in his room. He orders Hwa-Eum to go bring Deok Heung immediately. He wants them to bring him back alive. “I will be the one to kill him.” Ki Chul gives a final feral scream of anger as he bangs on the table.

Young comes to see Deok Heung in prison but Deok Heung is not there. The guards tell him that the king has called out Deok Heung.

Deok Heung bows to Gongmin and asks if he had a good trip. Gongmin glares at him silently. Deok Heung says he tried to do his best while Gongmin wasn’t here but the time was too short. Deok Heung approaches closer so Choong-suk steps up to block him. Gongmin allows Deok Heung to approach.

Gongmin says to Deok Heung that he heard about him when he was younger. They said Doek Heung was exceptionally bright. He knows both the Western and Japanese languages and he is an expert in military strategies. Gongmin says, “Since you are so great, I will ask you one thing.” Deok Heung asks, “If you like my answer, will you even give up your throne to me?” Gongmin replies, “I can.”

Gongmin asks, “Do you have something more important to you than this country?” Deok Heung replies, “Yes. Myself.” Gongmin laughs and says, “Good.” Deok Heung wonders if Gongmin liked the answer and Gongmin replies, “Yes because I think I will be a better king than you.” Gongmin orders Choong-suk to lead Deok Heung out of the palace.

Before Deok Heung can leave, however, Young barges in and asks Gongmin if he can interrogate Deok Heung right now. When Gongmin replies no, Young informs him that Deok Heung poisoned Eun-soo again. Gongmin asks for confirmation from Deok Heung but Deok Heung denies it.

Before Young can hurt Deok Heung, Gongmin explains to Young that he has a reason for letting Deok Heung go. Young allows Deok Heung to leave and asks Gongmin what that reason is. Gongmin informs Young that a message from Yuan came. The Yuan envoy is in the capital right now, carrying a message that states that Yuan supports Deok Heung as the Goryeo king. “If we harm Deok Heung now, it will become a reason to start a war. So…” Gongmin can’t finish his sentence as he looks at Young who has been listening silently all this while. Young finally lifts up his head and says, “I understand,” bows, and leaves. Gongmin closes his eyes in frustration.

The Suribangs try to find out what is in the carriage but they are almost killed again. They worry if they should report to Young. But Ji-ho adds that Young told them to find the envoy- shouldn’t the envoy party be larger? Shi-wool still finds that carriage suspicious.

Ahn Jae and his men hold off Hwa-Eum in the palace. Hwasooin says, “We’re just going in for a while. Why aren’t you letting us in like you use to?” (Joonni: Because there finally doing their frickin’ job!!!) Eum-ja prepares to use his flute but he sees Deok Heung and starts to chase after him. Deok Heung is trying to leave the palace with some soldiers escorting him but a man in black attacks the soldiers and grabs Deok Heung away. Someone in a similar attire is driving the carriage that the Suribang were following. Another one of those men leaves a letter on the table at the medical ward. One of the assistants sees it and gives it to Young.

Young brings the letter to Eun-soo and tells her someone suspicious brought it. Eun-soo asks Young to read it to her since she is weak in hanja. She jokes, “If it is a love letter, you have the write the response for me.” Young reads the letter and his face hardens. Eun-soo asks what is wrong. Young says, “Imja. I think we have to run away. Yuan’s envoy wants you so he can take you to Yuan.”

Softy’s comments:

I dont know where he learned to hug like this, but every time he does – it’s decisive and emotional. he clings like a kid holding tight to what’s precious to him. he makes every hug seem like it will be the last and gets the most out of it. You can just tell the more he does this, there is no way he is letting her go later or at least – he wont let her go alone.

In this scene, when Young repeats G’s question about what is the order (of importance) to him. the minute Young said “that person always came first,” I got chills. He seemed so brave saying it aloud. It’s like the most beautiful honest way of saying she means more to him than anything.  Young is a pretty simple guy -he speaks and acts from the heart so I bet G understood very clearly just how deeply Young is in love at this point.

Written before it aired: I think my mindset towards a drama is too simple. I take everything at face value. As long as scenes move along and entertain me to the extent that I don’t even notice its faults, I consider that a great episode. If I happen to be on the edge of my seat with one eye on the clock cuz I am nervous about the time running out, that means I am so into that drama that I am beyond help. You should have seen me last night – I was one crazed recapper. The minute it ended, I couldn’t hit update fast enough. While I was waiting for the torrent to download, I felt so proud of this cast and this drama. I knew Faith had what it took to become a hit online even if it was struggling in the ratings. I have a sixth sense about dramas early on and I just knew from the first episode this show would be a runaway hit. Every subsequent episode just proved my initial premonition about Faith was 100% warranted. I was lucky to witness and participate in a lot of great drama moments of shared exhilaration where the fans came together and just relished in those last few episodes and squeezed all the love out of it (in a good way). Speaking from experience, this is the best way to enjoy a drama – as a collective group cheering on their favorite couples or bromance. So even though I was too busy translating last night, trust me the fan girl inside was squealing along with all of you.

Joonni’s comments:

First, I want to thank everyone for their comments and replies, especially the letters left in the post, “The Evolution of Young and Eun-soo’s Relationship.” I teared up reading them because it is a community like this that makes me love a drama more and I love to read good writing and because you guys wrote with so much heart and love, I thought my own heart was going to burst.

There was so much to love this episode but let me start off with the things I had problems with. I don’t know if it is a problem with the execution or the writing but I had a hard time buying that the kiss stopped the wedding because I figured, considering Ki Chul and Deok Heung’s character, they won’t let a kiss stop them. I wonder if my subdued enthusiasm for the way Young solved this problem is due to my lack of understanding of Goryeo culture and what a public kiss like that means. It just seemed to me to be very anti-climatic the way Young simply said, “This is why this wedding can’t happen.” I think it would have been better if he said nothing at all and let others react around him. You see, I thought the kiss was a good idea during the previous episode because I figured it was more of an instinctive reaction from Young. But with Young so clearly stating why he kissed her, it lost some of that raw emotion I was expecting from him. I am aware that my reception of this scene may be partly due to my personal interpretation and desire but I still think that if the writer had shown the statesmen and/or priests protesting a little more, I would have found it easier to believe the power of the kiss in the context of Goryeo culture.

As I had said before, the directing doesn’t match the writing level so while I find the dialogue and small moments incredibly poignant, it doesn’t hit me as hard when the director is trying to visually create the emotion such as when Joo-suk was dying. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t as powerful as it could have been. The concept of his death is great and I love it at this point in the story but the visual doesn’t live up to the concept.

I found Ki Chul and his portrayal by Yoo Oh-sung a little jarring today. Sometimes his expressions are too funny and ridiculous and I have a hard time finding him dangerous at all, and I think he is still supposed to be dangerous instead of simply being obsessed with Eun-soo. I think Yoo Oh-sung could do a better job at layering the madness taking over Ki Chul, instead of going back and forth so jarringly from being comical to being angry.

As for the things I loved…I don’t think I say enough about Gongmin and Noguk. I absolutely adore these two and how open they are with each other and how much of a partnership they are creating. I think Noguk’s love of Gongmin can equal Eun-soo’s love of Young and I find Noguk incredibly radiant, strong, and utterly beautiful every time she is on screen. By standing next to her, Gongmin glows too, as if her light and warmth is enveloping him.

Gongmin and Young- these two. Guh! Gongmin’s love of Young breaks my heart. How many times can different characters in a drama break your heart? I think “Faith” is setting a record with me. I swear, my heart is in pieces right now. I had a few favorite scenes today and the scene when Gongmin and Young are talking in his room is one of them. Gongmin, aside from his own personal mourning, mourns doubly for Young, feeling like he caused more pain for him. Gongmin feels incredibly indebted and guilty towards Young because he cannot let Young go and keeps burdening him with more things to do. But I can’t be angry at Gongmin- he knows he is king first and foremost and that he needs Young in order to protect the country and his people. I think Young also understands that and thankfully he was always able to save Gongmin despite, as he confessed, he always thought of Eun-soo first.

How gratifying was that confession, guys? To hear directly from Young exactly how he has felt about her all this time and where she placed in his heart. This warrior’s love continues to astound and amaze me. How deep exactly is his heart and how heavy are his shoulders? I am tearing up right now as I type this just thinking about Young and what choices he had to make all throughout this drama.

Another one of my favorite scenes is when Young runs to Eun-soo and this is the type of directing I can go along with. Edit: On rewatch, no, the directing fails again. The shots should have been longer! Although we find out later more directly where Eun-soo places in his heart, we can tell from this scene in action (so much kudos to the writer for coming up with it) where Young’s heart is directed towards, always. The first thing he does is run to Eun-soo as soon as he hears that Gongmin is safe. All that waiting and impatience finally breaks lose, propelling him faster and faster to Eun-soo. And I die from all that emotion just in his footsteps. (Ah, yes, a nice close up of his feet would have been good too.)

Finally, the new development of Yuan entering the picture. It makes sense since the larger enemy was always Yuan. Fighting Yuan has always been the final goal politically and I am interested to know what role Eun-soo will play. But it did feel a little repetitive to have Yuan wanting Eun-soo too but I understand that writer is doing this to weave Eun-soo into this larger conflict.

So yes, we wait another week. Good god, a week! Countdown starts now. How many times will I rewatch these episodes???